On Thursday May 6th there will be an election for Parish Councillors in Godshill IF AND ONLY IF some other residents or people who work in Godshill are willing to stand for election. Now is your chance to help drag the Parish Council into the 21st century by electing new councillors with energy, vitality and ideas to replace the current autocratically run council made up of mainly ‘fuddy-duddies’ who don’t recognise that the Parish Council needs to be proactive and seen to be proactive plus above all, communicative, in order to better represent and satisfy the needs of the residents. A NEW council with six active councillors could achieve so much more and make better use of the £40,000+ of YOUR MONEY which it has to spend every year.
What gives me the right to say this? I served on the Parish Council for one year and resigned last month. Why did I resign? Although I feel I made some positive contributions in terms of persuading them to go with a new website, to start using Facebook and Twitter, give them a Communications Policy amongst other things, I felt the overbearing and autocratic way in which the council was run lead to negligible contributions from most councillors. In the 4 years that I have been here, I have watched a parish council that has done little for the village and which is not respected or valued by the residents. In my opinion, other councillors should also have had the strength of character to recognise the failings and stood down. Since my departure, it is sad to observe that the council and the parish clerk have not been up to maintaining the communications channels I had set up and have slipped back into their old ‘non-communicative’ ways.
It is not my intention to stand for the Parish Council again. Godshill needs at least half a dozen others who are willing to put themselves forward. I’m willing to support new prospective councillor by helping with applications and even producing election-valid leaflets, at no cost, which can be circulated to the residents to tell them about the new prospective Parish Councillors and why they should be given a chance to replace the current incumbents.
I may have only been here for four years but I plan to be here a hell of a lot longer! I support the church by providing them with and constantly updating their website. I have set up the Godshill Online website with twitter and facebook and a rapidly growing community facebook group “Friends of Godshill” to help share Godshill information. I want to see a proactive Parish Council which communicates and works with ALL the residents. I want councillors who truly represent and understand the full cross-section of all of us in the village, from those with young families to those who deserve some happiness in their later years. Is that too much to ask for?
Surely there are plenty of people in the village who could all contribute a little of their time to support a totally new set of councillors and create a parish-wide community spirit. We might then see plans in place for a real community centre and not the 1960s cricket pavilion currently proposed by the 5 parish councillors still in place. Let’s work towards the design and development of a real community centre, for a real community, and one that fully supports the proposed Play Park.
I’d love to see a council made up of councillors representing all age groups and including those who know Godshill a darn site better than me. I’m offering my support, if needed. Email me – colin@godshill.online – and let’s create a New Council, working together.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR A COMPLETE CHANGE and it’s UP TO YOU!